BOULDER, Colo. – The No. 22-ranked USC lacrosse team (7-1, 2-0 Pac-12) won its fourth straight contest in a decisive 11-5 victory over No. 23 Colorado (3-4, 2-1) at Kittredge Field on Saturday, March 16.
 
KEY PLAYERS

• Sophomore goalie Riley Hertford put up 10 saves for her second-career double-digit saves game and matched her career high with seven ground balls to go with a caused turnover.
• Sophomore attacker Sophia Donovan recorded her third hat trick of the season (fourth career) and picked up an assist to go with two ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Senior attacker Emily Concialdi returned from a two-game absence and dished out three assists to go with one goal, two ground balls, and a caused turnover.
• Junior attacker Ashley Hill came off the bench and scored a pair of second-half goals to propel USC to victory.
• Senior defender Jackie Gilbert had four draw controls and picked up three ground balls to go with two caused turnovers.
• Junior attacker Izzy McMahon scored a goal, dished out an assist, and had four draw controls.
• For Colorado, Miranda Stinson had three goals, four ground balls, and two draw controls. Samantha Nemirov had a goal and an assist. Charlie Rudy scored one goal off the bench and Julia Lisella had seven saves.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Trojans opened the game with a 4-0 run on goals by Concialdi, Hope Anhut, Donovan, and McMahon. The USC defense held the Buffaloes scoreless for nearly 13 minutes before Stinson found the back of the net to open up a 4-1 CU run.
• Colorado closed the gap to just one goal on Nemirov's goal at 0:18 left in the first half, but Kerrigan Miller won the next draw and found Donovan for the final goal of the first half with just nine seconds to the break.
• Donovan's final goal of the first half was the beginning of another 4-0 USC run. Kelsey Huff, Donovan, and Hill all scored to push the Trojans' lead to five goals at 9-4. The Women of Troy held fast on defense again to keep the Buffs off the scoreboard for the first 21:12 of the second half.
• Stinson scored her third goal for the hat trick under nine minutes to go, but Hill scored again less than a minute later and Anhut put the 11th goal on the board for the Trojans who wrapped up an 11-5 win.

UP NEXT

• The Trojans head to the Beaver State to face Oregon (2-6, 0-3 Pac-12) on Papé Field in Eugene, Ore., on Sunday (March 17) at 1 p.m. PT. The game will be shown live on the Pac-12+ streaming platform.

GAME NOTES

• USC improved to 6-2 all-time against Colorado and to 5-6 in the state of Colorado. USC's six-goal winning margin matches the largest in the series' history with the Buffaloes. The Trojans also won, 11-5, at home against CU on April 14, 2017.
• The victory is the Trojans' 17th all-time over a ranked opponent.
• Colorado's lone goal in the second half is the lowest offensive output by a USC opponent in the second half this season.
• The Trojans' defense held Colorado scoreless for 21:30 between its fourth and fifth goals; the longest scoreless defensive stretch for the Women of Troy this season.
• Today's game was originally scheduled for March 15 (Friday) at 3 p.m. MT but was pushed back a day because of a blizzard in the Denver Metropolitan area.
• USC's four-game winning streak is the longest this season and the longest since a streak of the same length last year from March 10-23.

For more information on the USC women's lacrosse team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @USCTrojansLax.